Johnny Miller

No matter what happens this week at Oakmont, nobody, not even Tiger Woods, is likely to top what Johnny Miller did on the course in 1973. Quite simply, his closing 63 was the greatest round of all time. Miller always is a presence at any U.S. Open because of his candid commentary for NBC. But when the tournament begins Thursday at the famed course outside of Pittsburgh, he will be a living, breathing, say-anything reminder of the history he made there 34 years ago. On June 17, 1973,...

Earl "Mr. B.B." Miller, 58, of Chicago, died September 17, 2003, in Rock Island, IL. Earl was born December 4, 1944 in Carbondale, IL. He married Valerie Gali in Chicago. Surviving are three daughters and two sons including Johnny Miller; niece, Angela Daily, and nephew, Joseph Miller, all of the Chicago area. He was a crane operator with Inland Steel Company, Gary, IN, for many years.

Mark Rolfing's squibber ("short, crooked and horrible") off the 15th tee at Medinah left the NBC/Golf Channel analyst in the rough, 220 yards from the hole. Rolfing debated his next shot - lay up on the short par-4 or try to reach a green protected by a pond and sprawling bunker. So I wondered: WWJD? What would Johnny do? Rolfing has been friends with brash NBC analyst Johnny Miller for two decades. He praises Miller as "brilliant" and is savvy enough to know "you can't get in the last...

Remember those autographed tongue depressors Green Bay sports memorabilia dealer Johnny Adams Jr. was auctioning off? Well, the framed set of 18 sticks finally has a home. In Glencoe, no less. Bob Tarnoff, an attorney for 20 years who opened a sports memorabilia store in Glencoe in February, said "aahhh" and won the unusual collectibles for $175. Now, Tarnoff owns signatures of Joe DiMaggio, Wesley Walker, Johnny Miller and other celebrities on one of the most unusual pieces of memorabilia ever...

BY BOB VERDI and (Bob Verdi is a senior writer for Golf Digest and Golf World magazines.) | September 6, 2009

In a cruel twist few around here envisioned last spring, the local baseball season ended before golf season, leaving Tiger Woods and friends to supply playoff fever that the Cubs and White Sox cured with recent free falls. This is by no means poor alternative programming, inasmuch as neither the PGA Tour nor the world's most famous sportsman visited Chicago one year ago. The BMW Championship went to St. Louis, where it succeeded mightily despite the absence of...

Johnny Miller, who will be working on NBC's coverage of the U.S. Open through the weekend, is often called the best analyst in golf, if not all sports TV. So what makes Miller so good? Did he get some special advice when he first got into broadcasting in 1990? "I got zero advice," he said with a laugh. "I just say what I would be saying if I were home having a pizza and watching on television. I used to talk back at the announcers at lot, saying something like, `Come on, that was a terrible shot.

No matter what happens this week at Oakmont, nobody, not even Tiger Woods, is likely to top what Johnny Miller did on the course in 1973. Quite simply, his closing 63 was the greatest round of all time. Miller always is a presence at any U.S. Open because of his candid commentary for NBC. But when the tournament begins Thursday at the famed course outside of Pittsburgh, he will be a living, breathing, say-anything reminder of the history he made there 34 years ago. On June 17, 1973,...

I have to believe Teddy Greenstein isn't watching golf on TV very often, or he enjoys amateur comedians rather than astute, knowledgeable golf commentators (Tribune, June 16). Gary McCord should be banned from all golf tournaments--he thinks he is a comedian. He gives you no insight on the game of golf. He is the worst. David Feherty is not far behind and also is somewhat difficult to understand because of his accent. The only announcer/commentator who really knows what is going on and gives one...

It's hard not to feel a little bit tired while watching "Hidden Palms." The show is turning up at the tail end of May sweeps, and I don't know about you, but I'm a little weary and more than ready to spend at least some of my evenings barbecuing or playing catch outside. As was the case with the sturdy ABC thriller "Traveler" (which has its second airing Wednesday since its May 10 premiere), "Hidden Palms" is on the summer schedule of a broadcast network -- another fact that doesn't inspire...

Had lunch with Johnny Miller the other day. Well, we didn't exactly eat. Miller visited the Union League Club to promote his new book, "I Call the Shots." The NBC golf analyst is more popular now than he was as a Hall of Fame player and barely could keep up with the requests to sign the books thrust in front of him. Because Miller was tight for time, he went straight from the autograph table to the podium. I had been asked to feed Miller questions for the program. Getting Miller...

It seems so laughable now. Before the Western Open, I wrote a preview story asking whether the golf world had seen the best of Tiger Woods, who was coming off a missed cut in the U.S. Open. Much of the piece was based on comments by Johnny Miller, who suggested that Woods, 30, would have a hard time duplicating the feats he accomplished in his 20s. Miller called it Woods' "second act." Well, it looks as if Woods is intent on doing an encore. Since finishing second in the...

Tiger Woods amazed even himself with his dramatic eagle-eagle finish Wednesday in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. "I've never done something like this before--with everything on the line," Woods said after eagling the par-5 18th hole twice to tie and beat Vijay Singh in a playoff in Poipu Beach, Hawaii. Woods, also the 1998 and 1999 winner in the 36-hole tournament for the year's major champions, hit a 6-iron approach from 231 yards to 8 feet to set up his tying eagle in regulation.

Johnny Miller, who will be working on NBC's coverage of the U.S. Open through the weekend, is often called the best analyst in golf, if not all sports TV. So what makes Miller so good? Did he get some special advice when he first got into broadcasting in 1990? "I got zero advice," he said with a laugh. "I just say what I would be saying if I were home having a pizza and watching on television. I used to talk back at the announcers at lot, saying something like, `Come on, that was a terrible shot.

Masters champion Vijay Singh shot a 3-under-par 69 on Tuesday to take a two-stroke lead over Tiger Woods in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Poipu Beach, Hawaii. Tom Lehman opened with a 73 and Paul Azinger shot a 74 in the four-player, 36-hole event for the year's major champions. Because Woods won the other three majors, Lehman and Azinger gained invitations based on their finishes in the elite events. Ernie Elsclinched an alternate berth, but had a schedule conflict. After...

The U.S. Open returns to a place that has seen the extremes in golf. Winged Foot is known for a massacre and a rainbow. In 1974 the course setup was so difficult, only seven players had a round below par for the entire tournament. Hale Irwin's winning score of 7 over sealed that Open's designation as "The Massacre at Winged Foot." The memory was far more uplifting during the PGA Championship in 1997. When Davis Love III settled over his last putt on the 18th hole to clinch his first major title,...

Score one for the old guy. Literally, make that a one. Peter Jacobsen, 51, recorded a hole-in-one on the par-3 ninth hole during the third round Saturday. He rode the momentum of the ace to a 69, tying him for the low round of the day. At 4 over par, he trails Retief Goosen by seven shots. Jacobsen hit a perfect 7-iron from 175 yards, one-hopping the ball into the hole. "It was one of those shots that the minute it left the club, I knew it was a fantastic shot," Jacobsen...